Both the Nationals and One Nation are using the defection of Barnaby Joyce to boost membership, as the former Nationals MP defends his party leader’s history of inflammatory racial rhetoric.
NSW Nationals chairman Rick Colless said the party remained strong in New England as there had been a steady stream of sign ups over the last 12 to 18 months, with Tamworth a stronghold.
Dozens of members have joined the Tamworth branch since the Barnaby saga unfolded and reports of a mass exodus of branch members to One Nation were exaggerated, with only about 10 people resigning their membership, he said, which New England Times understands were mostly of the same family.
“There haven’t been substantial people leaving in the last month … and there’s been a lot more that have joined us,” he said.
Local members have also reported friends and family reaching out to them about the best way to get involved in the New England’s traditional party now that Barnaby Joyce was no longer the local standard bearer.
“It’s particularly great to have younger people approach you and say they’re interested – and most of the people who have spoken to me are under 30,” said one member in Armidale.
Former Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Jeff Bacon, who jumped to the Nationals before joining One Nation, said there had been a 500 per cent membership increase in New England since October.
“While the establishment of local branches has been the main driver of this growth, I expect numbers to rise even further following Barnaby’s recent decision to join,” he said.
One Nation did not respond to a request for comment or confirmation of this claimed membership surge.
The former deputy prime minister has also denied abandoning our electorate after quitting the Nationals to join the Pauline Hanson-led right-wing party. His statement announcing his decision to join New England did not mention the electorate or the people who voted for him, but Mr Joyce said he remained a conservative politician and his move was the most effective way to represent his cause.
“If it’s hurt people, I apologise deeply, but if you want to continue on in politics and serve your nation, it was the most efficacious way to do it,” he told ABC radio on Tuesday.
The former Nationals leader said his priority for the remaining two years of his term as a lower-house MP was to serve the people of New England, which he pledged to do “with laser-like focus”.
Mr Joyce will sit in the House of Representatives for the rest of the parliamentary term as a One Nation MP before leading the party’s Senate ticket for NSW.
Mr Joyce refused to be drawn on some of Senator Hanson’s most controversial public remarks, including comments about banning the burqa after wearing the religious garment in the Senate.
“I will leave that question to Pauline … I didn’t wear a burqa into the chamber,” he said when asked about the stunt on ABC TV on Tuesday.
Mr Joyce was more forthcoming on Monday night, telling the ABC’s 7.30 program: “I don’t believe that there is a vilification by Pauline Hanson on racial groups”.
Deputy Nationals leader Kevin Hogan compared Mr Joyce’s defection to that of controversial former federal Labor leader Mark Latham, who later joined One Nation in NSW.
“Barnaby Joyce joins those ranks as having been a previous leader of a party and joining One Nation,” he said.
“But I’ll leave others to make their judgment about that.”
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